Japan’s new series of banknotes marks its first anniversary on Thursday, but adoption has been slow, with fewer than 30% of all bills in circulation being the redesigned versions, according to Bank of Japan data.
Roughly 5 billion new banknotes were in circulation as of the end of May, accounting for just 28.8% of all bills in use. That’s less than half the pace seen during the last currency redesign in 2004, when new bills made up 61.1% of the total in the same time frame.
Still, the central bank says the rollout is proceeding smoothly and that the slow pace is within expectations. “There have been no major issues, and issuance is progressing steadily,” a BOJ official said.
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